United Way Youth Venture

Mission: United Way Youth Venture (UWYV) supports the youth of North Central Massachusetts to be the cultivators of change in our community.

UWYV inspires and invests in “Venture Teams” of youth primarily between the ages of 8-22 to create lasting social change. Across the region, we help young people to step into the role of humanist, using their interests and passions to address a problem in the community.

Ventures are completely youth-created and youth-led. Youth involved in UWYV take something that they are passionate about and address a need they see in their community, using multiple disciplines of arts, humanities, and sciences to investigate their chosen cause and implement a unique solution. Through the process of launching a Venture, young people learn the important skills of leadership, teamwork, entrepreneurship, and empathy as well as other valuable life skills that empower them further as life-long humanists.

To become a Venture Team, youth are required to complete an Action Plan, which is similar to a business plan. Venturers present their idea to a community panel, which determines whether the Team is ready to launch. Venture teams must benefit the community, have clear and attainable goals and be sustainable.

UWYV is a free opportunity for youth–no young person that approaches the program with the desire to create their own social venture will be turned away.